Clemson Tigers Head Coach Shockingly Left Off Midseason Watch List

The head coach of the Clemson Tigers was shockingly left off a midseason watch list

Clemson Head Coach Brad Brownell in the game with Georgia Tech during the second overtime at Littlejohn Coliseum in Clemson, S.C. Tuesday, February 4, 2025. | Ken Ruinard / staff / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

With the Clemson Tigers playing some excellent basketball on the hardwood, the team is focused on making another long run in the NCAA Tournament.

It has been a really good season once again for the Tigers. The program has been not only one of the best in the ACC this year, but one of the best in the country.

So far in the 2024-25 campaign, Clemson has a strong overall record and impressive record in the conference. The team has also been able to notch some statement wins this year against the Duke Blue Devils and the Kentucky Wildcats.

Overall, it has been a successful season and the team is poised to make some noise in March Madness once again.

However, despite their success this campaign, their head coach Brad Brownell was shockingly left off the list of finalists for the Naismith College Coach of the Year Watch List.

With 15 coaches being on the list, it’s a really surprising omission not to have Brownell recognized.

Leading the Charge 🚀

Introducing the Werner Ladder Naismith Men’s College Coach of the Year Watch List, presented by @AxiaTimeLLC 🏆@Werner_Safety | #WernerLadderNaismith2025 | #AXIATimeNaismith2025 pic.twitter.com/ZiTA0SJnIc

— Naismith Awards (@NaismithTrophy) February 21, 2025

Even though Clemson has been known as more of a football school, Brownell has been the head coach of the Tigers since the 2010-11 season and produced some solid seasons.

Since being hired, he has reached the NCAA Tournament four times, with last year being the furthest he has made it, going to the Elite 8.

Even though the program lost multiple key players to graduation after the run last year, Clemson is arguably on track to have their best regular season yet. While the ACC might be a bit down this season overall, the Tigers are thriving.

Currently, the argument can be made that they are the second-best team in the conference behind only the Blue Devils.

A lot of credit should be going to Brownell for how the program has performed this campaign after a great run last year. The Tigers aren’t known for making runs like that and the sustained success shown so far this year should have helped his case.

While there are a lot of good coaches on the list, leaving Brownell out feels like a mistake with all things considered.

As a team, Clemson has been overlooked this year. Despite having a great record for most of the year, both overall and in a major conference, it took a win over the Blue Devils to get them back into the Top-25.

With regular season conference play wrapping up, the program will be getting set to hopefully compete for a conference title at the beginning of March.